Delicately sweet with a hint of bitterness, a homemade chocolate liqueur (aka creme de cacao) is like an expensive dark chocolate bar in your drink instead of like a jigger of Nestle Quik. Give it as a Christmas gift or use it in holiday cocktails!

In a sealable glass jar, steep the cacao nibs in the vodka for 8 days. Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Once cooled, add this syrup and vanilla extract to the jar. Leave steeping for one more day. Strain and filter into a bottle or jar for storage.

]]>http://www.diy-cocktails.com/2016/11/diy-chocolate-liqueur/feed/0Hot Toddy Recipeshttp://www.diy-cocktails.com/2016/11/hot-toddy-recipes/
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It’s getting cold! So it’s time to get cozy with a hot toddy. Here are some fun variations on the basic hot toddy to warm you up from now through winter.

Gingerbread Hot Toddy ~ This warming cocktail tastes like real gingerbread. The gingerbread syrup would make a great latte too.

Honey-Bourbon Toddy ~ Honey, bourbon and cinnamon are the perfect ingredients to sip by the fire this fall.

Vermouth was a crucial building block of the American bar scene. Early versions of the Manhattan and martini were made with twice as much vermouth as either whiskey or gin. But World War II cut off access to imports and squelched demand for European brands. More than 50 years later, the classic cocktail revival inspired bartenders to seek out high quality European vermouth once again. And when they couldn’t find it, bartenders turned to Haus Alpenz.

Grapes usually make their way into our cocktails through wine, Pisco, vodka or other grape-based alcohols. But the fruit itself is full of flavor. And it’s grape season. Take that grape and smash it, juice it or infuse with it!

Here are a few grape cocktails to try.

Napa Valley Mojito ~ Grapes and sparkling wine are the perfect pair in this brunch cocktail (that you can drink any time).

Green Grape Pisco Sour ~ The Pisco Sour is rich, light and airy all at the same time. Adding grapes adds more flavor while keeping the luxurious feel.

Grapes of Wrath ~ Concord grapes, mezcal and sherry take the lead — with help from Barolo Chinato, a spiced fortified red wine that enhances the drink’s graped-up flavor.

Because of its health benefits, yogurt has taken over the dairy section. Greek, Icelandic, whole fat, non-fat, goat, cow or sheep — there are more varieties of yogurt at most markets than all other milk products combined. But the next frontier for cultured dairy is behind the bar.

Combine ingredients in a glass jar. Let steep for two days. Sample to check flavor and make possible adjustments. Steep for up to five days, shaking daily. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the larger items and then strain again through a coffee filter into a bottle.

The recipe I created and posted here was first published on Serious Eats in my DIY vs. Buy column.

]]>http://www.diy-cocktails.com/2016/10/diy-spiced-rum/feed/0How to Make a Smoldering Halloween Cauldron With Dry Icehttp://www.diy-cocktails.com/2016/10/dry-ice-halloween-punch/
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You don’t need eye of newt or wing of bat to brew a batch of toil and trouble this Halloween. All you need is some dry ice. This magic ingredient turns an ordinary punch bowl into a bubbling, smoldering cauldron that’s perfect for parties.

Halloween inspires a lot of cocktails that look creepy but don’t taste like anything you’d go near the rest of the year. Skip the sticky-sweet liqueurs and food coloring. This punch is not only on theme for the holiday, but it’s also a sophisticated and seasonal drink for grown-ups.

Forget the slasher movies and haunted houses: Nothing is scarier than Halloween cocktails. Every October, candy corn martinis and glow-in-the-dark slime shooters roam the streets looking for their next victim. But a bar menu filled with bad puns and even worse drinks isn’t the way to show guests a good time.

I always have blueberries in the fridge or freezer. They’re great for a snack, so why not for a cocktail? Blueberries pair well with many herbs, spices and liquors — which makes them perfect for the cocktail shaker and muddler.

Low-Calorie Blueberry Tarragon Cocktail ~ Fresh blueberries are a great balance of tart and sweet, with tarragon adding a complexity that makes it taste like you added some fancy liqueur to the mix without adding calories.

Blueberry Mint Julep Spritzer ~ All those words sound like deliciousness to me! It’s still warm out and this is a great way to stay cool while enjoying a cocktail.